achterkirch Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 So I am new father (my son is about three months old now). And I found out that, to no surprise, I have no time for the hobbie between him and working full time. For all the parents out there have you had a similar experience? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fulcrum1 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Yeah, however, at first I had all the time in the world and then he started walking............... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I've got a 2-1/2 year old girl. I've found that most of my modeling is done after 9PM. By then baby is long since in bed and that is when my wife usually turns in. I'm a bit of a night owl so that gives me an hour or two for my hobbies or just to chill and watch some "guy" tv shows or read. Either that or one of the rare weekends when Mom and baby are doing something on their own. Gotta jump on those opportunities! Good luck and congrats. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
achterkirch Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 Thank you. Has any one baby proofed their model stuff and if you did how did you do it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CorsairMan Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 My little one is 5 months and its been an awesome time. Definitely less model time but I do get down there more often than I thought I would. Were lucky that she is an amazing sleeper! Congrats! Its a blessing in every way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crazy Snap Captain Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) I've got a 6 year old and a 3 year old. Much like 11bee, I get stuff done after 9pm or on those occasions when the wife and kids are away. My work bench is in the garage (read mancave) now so no real need for baby proofing, however, when it was in the study, I had a couple of downed aircraft. Here's one tip someone gave me; keep some really colorful toys that your kid hasn't played with in your workshop. That way if they ever get in, it's a safe® bet that they won't go for that kit you've invested hundreds of work hours into. The other thing is the hazardous items that can really hurt your toddler. Keep all sharp tools out of reach and remember, kids are like monkeys so if they see a shiny bright thing they'll find a way to get it. I used to lock mine up in a case that I got from an impact drill that I bought. Next bad thing is paints and associated materials like thinners etc. Keep that stuff way outta reach. Don't want your kid getting their mits on that. A lot of guys here move to acrylics as well as this is usually less toxic than the enamels et al. Congrats on the new little tacker and keep modelling! Edited August 9, 2014 by Crazy Snap Captain Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I have two girls (#1 is 5 yrs, #2 2 months) and never had any trouble - seems like girls don´t care much of my stuff, at least when I´m not busy with it, Then my old one comes and asks what I´m doing and where the passengers will go... ;) As for the time for modelling: With a toddler you usually have the evenings "busy", at least our is staying awake with us until we go to bed. As soon as we will have a more stable "day-night"-routine (usually when they don´t need to eat every 2-3 hours), she will go to bed earlier the evening (I hope around 7PM) and then you´ll have a free evening. The only change I did was transitioning from enamels to acrylics, as they don´t smell that much. They also enabled me to build faster as they dry within one hour, opposed to the several hours of the enamels! HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
achterkirch Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 I do already have mostly acrylics unless I can't find it then I'll have a certain color in enamel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevehnz Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I put my life on hold for about 8 years while we had our three, now 19,16 & 13. I was obviously being an overly supportive husband. :( Steve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
toadwbg Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I've got a 2-1/2 year old girl. I've found that most of my modeling is done after 9PM. By then baby is long since in bed and that is when my wife usually turns in. I'm a bit of a night owl so that gives me an hour or two for my hobbies or just to chill and watch some "guy" tv shows or read. Either that or one of the rare weekends when Mom and baby are doing something on their own. Gotta jump on those opportunities! Good luck and congrats. That described my situation exactly about 5-10 years ago. I really cherished my quiet downtime in the hobby room. I even had a baby monitor on the workbench. Nowdays kids are in sports or after-school activities and I hsve LESS TIME to sit at the workbench. Not complaining. I will complain about the kids sharing my man-cave however. There's LEGOS all over the floor like a minefield! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aigore Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I have two girls, 3 and soon to be 2 yrs old. My first steps to continue modelling was buying a new quiet compressor and go from using Humbrol to life color acrylics... and make sure the lock on hobby room door worked. As for time, well I had 180 days if daddy leave per child....when the wee one slept I was in the hobby room next door :D When I got back to work I built in the evenings after bed time at 730pm :) When the second girl arrived we had the first already in day care so I spent my second daddy leave building like the first one... Last autumn when I got back to work I changed job however, before I worked evenings, weekends and over night shifts and now I only work daytime and only Monday to Friday. So now days it's only evenings after the girls has gone to bed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Priorities. It's what makes you sniff diapers instead of glue... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
achterkirch Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 Priorities. It's what makes you sniff diapers instead of glue... Oh man isn't that the truth Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skidbuggy Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 (edited) I have a two year old. I find the only time that I can do any modeling is when I'm at the hotel on a layover; if I'm not too tired or feel like a bag-of-poo given my airline's scheduling methods. Once you have a kid, your life is no longer your own. Edited August 10, 2014 by skidbuggy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thommo Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Our two daughters had minimal impact on my numerous hobbies.....other than I had to do some things very tired after getting up a 2am to walk the youngest down the lane in the pram to get her back to sleep. Maybe I was a crap father, but at 19 & 21, they have both turned out to be good hardworking kids. Maybe they just have an excellent mother :lol: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
achterkirch Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 (edited) Ha ha. I know my kid has a really good mother she puts up with him all day long while I work. Edited August 11, 2014 by achterkirch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bikerider Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I have a 15 month old little girl. Since she was born I tend to do some modelling in short 30 minute spurts when I get free time from looking after her, or the house chores. Now that she is older and sleeping better, my wife goes out a couple nights a week and I can get about 2 hours in a row those nights to do something. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SBARC Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 To child proof your stuff.....put it in one room and lock the door. We kept our basement off limits to the kids.....door was locked. I worked evenings and my wife worked days. I would do the Mr Mom thing all day with the kids and go off to work when my wife came home. In the evenings I didn't work......I would leave the house...park the car down the road....my wife would close the curtains and I would sneak back to the house and around to the back basement door and spend a quiet evening in the basement working on models or doing ARC work. After a few hours I would sneak back to my car.....drive it back home and put the kids to bed. My wife also had her quiet time in the basement the same way. We had a code word for our basement...."Santuary"....I would tell her "I'm going to santuary tonight".....both our kids were pre-schoolers at the time. Once they began school I had my days free and worked short shifts at my job in the evenings. I brought them hot lunches each day to school and always was home in time to put them to bed each evening. I also attended every field trip and classroom party until about the grade 6 level....so I was deeply involved. My oldest begins University in a few weeks...our youngest is 2 years behind her. they both turned out to be excellent kids and much beyond our expectations. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mynameismatt Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I have a 2 year old and another on the way. I can attest that nap times and at night after they go to bed are the only solid chunks of time I have to work/play with hobbies. That being said, I still have time to quick spray a layer of paint every now and again. I'm a slow builder - so I can deal with it. I've actually built more in the past two years simply because I find value in the free time I now have. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skidbuggy Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Something that might helps you dad's is to have a supportive partner or wife. Something I don't have. I get resistance at every corner from my wife, so I have to sneak behind her back to build a model. That makes modeling twice as difficult. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pep Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I have a 2 year old daughter. When i got the news my wife was pregnant,We turned my hobby room into a guest room and i moved my entire hobby room into the Closet of said room I had shelves made inside the close on the sides and i use an Ikea counter top to build. Its enough room to build. I get most of my building done in the evenings and and some times in the weekend. I have a table for my daughter so she can color and watch TV with me when im in there. now that's she's 2 she also has legos. the trick is let her understand that the legos and coloring is done only in that room. that way when you are both in there it will be a special activity for her. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
echolmberg Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Achter, congrats on the new little one! Fatherhood is great. You'll find yourself giving so much love that you never even realized you were capable of giving. It amazed me when my first daughter was born and then it floored me again when my second little girl was born. (They're 11 and 7 now.) I think it was a minimum of a year and a half before I could even touch a model after my first one was born. She was so consistent on her nightly feeding times that you could set your watch by her. It took her a long time before she finally slept through the night. With that being said, I never had any time to work on my kits. But for me, that was okay. As one other person posted previously, it's all about priorities. Kits are able to be discarded and replaced. Your family is not. Models are NOT life. Family is. Be there for your baby and, equally as important, be there for your wife. I hear way too many stories of how the wife is the one who sacrifices while "dad" is off at the golf course, drinking with his buddies, or just not there for whatever the reason. Models will always be there when life settles down for you, and believe me, it will eventually settle down. You'll be able to go back to model building again once you feel the time is right. For now, soak up all the memories you can at this moment because time will fly by and you'll wish you could capture this moment again. Eric Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 For now, soak up all the memories you can at this moment because time will fly by and you'll wish you could capture this moment again. Eric Word... It's scary how quickly they grow up. In addition to my 2 year baby girl, I've got 14 & 19 year old girls. Seems like just yesterday they were tiny ones. Gotta make my 2 year old promise to never grow up!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
achterkirch Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 (edited) Achter, congrats on the new little one! Fatherhood is great. You'll find yourself giving so much love that you never even realized you were capable of giving. It amazed me when my first daughter was born and then it floored me again when my second little girl was born. (They're 11 and 7 now.) I think it was a minimum of a year and a half before I could even touch a model after my first one was born. She was so consistent on her nightly feeding times that you could set your watch by her. It took her a long time before she finally slept through the night. With that being said, I never had any time to work on my kits. But for me, that was okay. As one other person posted previously, it's all about priorities. Kits are able to be discarded and replaced. Your family is not. Models are NOT life. Family is. Be there for your baby and, equally as important, be there for your wife. I hear way too many stories of how the wife is the one who sacrifices while "dad" is off at the golf course, drinking with his buddies, or just not there for whatever the reason. Models will always be there when life settles down for you, and believe me, it will eventually settle down. You'll be able to go back to model building again once you feel the time is right. For now, soak up all the memories you can at this moment because time will fly by and you'll wish you could capture this moment again. Eric Thank you. He is a blessing. He's growing up so fast and he's only a couple of months old. Edited August 11, 2014 by achterkirch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Hi Achterkirch, it may mean less time for your hobby right now but keep showing him stuff and pretty soon you'll have someone to share your passion. They grow fast. Just make sure everything's out of reach for now. They're quick to grab and throw and pop things into their mouths. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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